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The one on his neck.
When Tim was younger, he used to cry and scream when he was forced into suits. The press of the top button in his shirt felt suffocating. Adding the tie on top of that? It felt like hell. He sure hollered like it was.
His parents would, to put it lightly, discourage this reaction. It took only a few corrections before the child would choke down his screams and swallow his cries in his constricted throat.
His closet may be filled with gala suits and school uniforms, but his comfort clothes never had a high collar. Some graphic tees felt too high.
That was the case for 15 years of his life.
Jason started coming around more often.
Initially, he had wrestled with the emotional insecurity of leaving his neck vulnerable versus the sensory terror of covering it up. Scarves weren't too uncomfortable, but they couldn't be worn for half the year.
It wouldn't be excruciatingly horrible. He knew how to wear high collared shirts. He had done so since he was a child and could ignore his discomfort. He didn't want to, though. Why should he be stifled in a place he should feel safe? Why should he suffer when he's supposed to be around family?
For the beginning months of Jason's reintegration into the family, he refused to be uncomfortable in clothes he was supposed to relax in. Despite the lingering anxiety of his neck being bare, Hood wasn't around often and rarely left the cave. At the start, it was okay.
Then, Jason started to hang around. He'd have tea with Alfred, tinker in the cave, or read books in the library. It would've been unpleasant, but manageable, if it simply concerned the older teen hanging around the Manor.
Tim noticed the bastard would not stop staring at Tim's neck. Specifically the scar.
He doesn't know what the bastard's problem is. He put that scar there. He didn't need to continue looking at it as well.
So, Tim started to stuff himself into high collar clothes.
Although Tim is loath to mimic Red Hood (the crime lord's newest outfit has protection for the neck and he constantly wears scarves or turtlenecks [as if seeing how easily Tim's neck was cut]), Tim can't stand the weight of Hood's looks. His costume gets a neck protection upgrade as well. Anything he wears around Hood now covers his neck. It's confining, but it's better than the feeling of eyes upon his closed wound.
The first few times Tim starts wearing neck coverings around Jason, the man visibly startles. He grows pale and makes excuses to leave.
Good fucking riddance.
It takes multiple interactions of the older teen fleeing before he continues to stick around as he had before. He's paler, shakes more, and still leaves a bit earlier, but he manages longer with each time.
Yet. He's. Still. Fucking. Looking.
Tim's neck is fully covered, protected, and unable to be seen. That brain dead asshole still manages to approximate where the scar is buried under all the layers.
It makes Tim anxious. It makes him annoyed.
When he finally had enough, just needed Jason to stop fucking looking at him , Tim confided in Dick. He explained the situation (not how the gaze made his skin crawl, his hands twitch for a weapon, and his legs tense in preparation to run). He trusted Dick to do something about the situation.
He got a reassuring smile, a promise, a shoulder pat, and Jason being more sneaky.
Absolutely fuck his life sideways.
It's fine. Tim has been actively avoiding Anger Issues™ and can retreat to Drake Manor. He's used to handling issues on his own. He always has.
For months after Jason became more sly in his glances, Tim increased his avoidance of the Batcave and his visits to Young Justice. He took on more solo cases and more of the behind the scenes work. He probably completed more research during those few months than he did for his entire previous tenure of Robin.
His solution was working just fine. Red Hood could work with Batman and Nightwing. Robin could focus on other previously neglected areas in their vigilante work.
It was fine.
Tim's life started to fall apart. His dad died. He made up a fake uncle. The Waynes found out his uncle was fake. He got adopted.
It was fine.
Until the Demon Brat arrived.
Tim's not sure what he first thought when he saw Bruce dragging in another child. Did Tim feel dread at his position in the family being threatened? Joy at meeting his new younger sibling? Anger at Bruce for throwing another child into this fucked up family dynamic when Tim was still trying to keep the older man together?
It doesn't matter. Whatever Tim felt when he first laid eyes on the scowling kid's face was quickly replaced with irritation.
That soon became resignation.
There has to be something wrong with Tim. Two out of three of his brothers tried to kill him. The little monster is still actively trying and the bug juice bather insults him every other interaction. The other family members do nothing to curb their actions or harsh words. They don't even rebuke them.
At this point, Tim's almost ready to cut his losses on the whole "family" thing. What would be the point in continuing this farce? Love and attention? Is it truly worth the pain and suffering it's been causing him?
It doesn't take long for his thoughts to shift to those. Months of defending against assassinations, hiding from Jason, and finding any reason to stay out of the Manor slowly reaffirm these notions.
Then Bruce dies.
He wasn't dead. He wasn't .
The Manor that had started to no longer feel like home (and definitely not a place he was safe at) was ripped from him. He was fired from Robin. Dick nor Alfred defended Tim when Damian made comments about Tim not belonging there. Dick thought he was crazy.
So, Tim got the idea. He can care about the other Waynes, he can lose his spleen in a desert for them, but that doesn't mean they care about him. It doesn't mean that he's safe with them.
At least Jason would be happy that his lesson stuck. It wasn't the beating at Titan Tower that convinced Tim. It was his other “family” members.
Tim is independent, though he works at WE, and he doesn't rely on them. Red Robin showed up when they called, but Timothy Drake was a very busy CEO.
Not that they called Timothy Drake.
RR has been called a few times for team ups, help with cases, help with tech, or Arkham breakouts.
Red Hood has been called as well.
Tim's suit still has a high collar.
The collar is made of nice fabric, but the feeling of suffocation still persists. Red Robin despises his collar with a burning passion, but he despises Hood's stare more.
Red's uniforms have a high collar. Timothy’s business suits have a high collar, makeup, or turtleneck. Even through pictures, Tim hopes the bastard doesn't see it.
That corpse of a prick put that scar there. What right does he have to continue staring at the mark?
Like always, Batman calls when he needs Red Robin. Red Robin answers.
He gets a simple debrief about two gangs in the middle of a turf war, the dangers to civilians, and how they need a lot of support on scene.
Gangs are Red Hood's speciality.
Tim sighs as he yanks the collar of his uniform up. He's sure the mission is going to go to shit some way or another. It's like Batman is purposefully ignoring how the batkid dynamics are affecting mission success rates.
Bastard probably is.
It only takes a few minutes to arrive at the location Batman indicated earlier. As soon as his feet hit the ground, both Hood and Robin start the bitchfest. Tim is so fucking tired.
Being a high school drop-out CEO of a multi-billion dollar company during the day and a teen vigilante at night is not conducive to good rest. Bruce, probably because of how nice it is not to be responsible, has yet to take back WE. Tim is tired.
So of course the mission goes to shit.
Bottom line, Hood wants to blow shit up, Batman is having none of that, Robin is trying to prove himself, and Red has slightly delayed reactions due to overworking.
The factory blows up, Hood flees, Batman stalks back to his cave, Robin follows, and Red just wants to go back to his Nest.
Tim really wants to drag himself into his Nest and ignore his problems as he curls up on his bed.
He can't.
Red Robin knows Hood had gotten injured in that fight. He also knows Hood lied when Batman asked.
Even if Tim wasn't 100% sure Jason was lying his ass off to avoid the hovering, staring, and lecturing by the Bat, Hood’s proximity to the blast was too close for comfort.
Unless the tracker glitched, but Tim made it himself.
Should he be concerned about placing trackers on Jason without the older man or Batman's knowledge? Maybe.
Jason shouldn't have tried to kill him either.
Regardless of Tim's flimsy ethics, the younger Bat will have to follow up with Hood because of the injuries. He won't even tell Batman as long as they aren't too severe.
If Tim doesn't follow up and Jason croaks, Red Robin will either be found out knowing about the injuries or he'll have to force himself back into the Wayne family to pick Bruce's shattered self up again.
He really doesn't want to do that again.
Following an injured, cranky crime lord that tried to kill Tim previously back to his home base is not Tim's brightest of ideas. He could inform Oracle of Jason's likely demise and have her arrange a non-bat alternative. She is likely to be discreet and even provide him professional help.
But then Jason would know about the tracker. He's intelligent, even if his actions purposefully describe him as being a think later type of guy. The subterfuge is one aspect Tim begrudgingly respects out of Hood.
Checking the neckline of his uniform once more, Tim heads to Jason's nearest safehouse (the one Hood is already stumbling towards).
He manages to arrive at the apartment a few minutes after Hood. There's no blood visible on the window seal so Tim's optimistic about Hood's injuries.
Red will sneak into the apartment, confirm Jason is fine, and then sneak back out. Hood doesn't have to know.
Good news: Jason is fine. Some second degree burns here and there, definitely bruising, but over all fine. He's even lounging on the couch as he tends to the burns.
Bad news: Tim did not manage to sneak back out.
Seeing Hood's bare neck for the first time causes Red to freeze. Jason, feeling eyes on him, whips his head around to face Tim. The younger teen can't move.
Upon seeing that it's Tim, Jason merely sighs.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
If he could, Tim would make some smart ass quip about Hood's inability to take care of himself. He'd maybe even take a dig at Jason's death or use Dick as a guilt. As it is, Tim can't stop staring. He can feel Red Hood's growing unease as the man tries to act casual and carefree.
Tim didn't cause that scar, but he's starting to understand Jason's obsession with staring.
Without moving his eyes from Hood's neck, Tim addresses him.
"What happened?"
The man practically growls out a defensive "nothing." Tim continues to stare.
Jason shifts in his seat a little, his eyes darting around the room before finally settling on Tim again. The teen merely raises an eyebrow in response. Jason sighs.
"It was an accident."
Both eyebrows raise in disbelief. Not only does the gruesome slash wound on Jason's throat look gnarly and obviously too deep to be unintentional, but the hesitant way the words were formed gives Tim pause. Regardless of what did happen, Jason wants to believe it's an accident.
If Tim was nicer, if he was less curious, less tired, less fed up with Jason's bullshit, and more forgiving, he would've dropped the conversation there. As it was, Jason's not wiggling out of this conversation.
"Sure. An accident. That still doesn't tell me what happened, Jason."
The man scowls and crosses his arms. The awkward silence Tim is enacting to extract data doesn't last as long as the first time.
Jason ducks his chin into his chest as he sighs. Tim has very complicated, mixed feelings about Jason's similar response of protecting his neck when he feels vulnerable. Maybe the kid will examine those on his own time. Most likely, those feelings will get shoved into a box for a much later Tim to deal with.
"It was the confrontation with the Joker and Batman."
Tim's lips purse as he thinks about that time. The showdown was dramatic, ended in an explosion, and Joker went back to jail. If he wasn't furious at Red Hood for attacking him at the Tower, some of the points Batman reported Hood claiming were understandable. From Jason's point of view, it did look like he'd been replaced. Joker broke out constantly, has even hurt another Robin, and continues to cause death and suffering.
Tim could see where the crime lord was coming from. Sort of.
Maybe he was still upset about the Tower.
Regardless, Batman never reported Red Hood receiving such an extensive injury. Usually major injuries on enemies or allies are reported and recorded in their appropriate file (both to assist the person and catalog it as a potential weakness).
Joker left with Batman. If that man had injured Red Hood, Batman would've known.
"The cowl footage from that night is encrypted. I've never seen the point in breaking that footage beforehand when I could read Batman's report of the incident. However, there were no mentions of your injuries."
Jason inhales sharply.
“No mentions? At all?” When Tim shakes his head, Jason curses.
Tim looks at the man skeptically. He has a feeling that whatever Jason's answer is, it won't be good for the relationship Bruce is trying to repair with his back-from-the-dead son.
“Fuck. That's so like him. I don't know why I was expecting any different. Fuck!” He buries his head into his hand and exclaims more cuss words. Tim's having a really bad feeling about this.
“You said it was an accident?”
Between scarred, crooked fingers teal eyes glance at Red. They assess him for a moment before his hands drop and he sits up in his seat. He nods, slowly coming to a conclusion Tim isn't aware of.
“Why don't you have a seat, Tim?”
Holy fuck, Batman. Jason called him by his name. What the absolute fuck? Nothing the older man has said before, even when he was getting beaten to a bloody pulp, terrified Tim as much.
At the indication from Jason, Tim sits on the coffee table in front of the couch Jason's on. The older man nods.
“I'm going to relay the event to you. You're going to tell me if it was an accident.”
This is probably not good. Clocking Jason's expression, Tim changes his mind. This is definitely not good.
However, as Tim's eyes drift to Jason's neck again, he finds himself nodding in agreement. He can play jury.
“Batman, Joker, and I are all in a room together. The clown fuck is tied up. I've got a gun. Batman is trying to convince me to not kill the Joker. I tell him to choose between the Joker and I. I tell him to kill the Joker.”
Tim nods slowly. That was in the report. Jason's detached tone when referring to his killer is a bit distressing, but he's otherwise detailing a decent account.
“Batman throws his batarang.” There's a slight pause and barely audible hitch to Jason's tone before he continues. “He aimed for my neck. It hit. He took Joker before the bomb could go off.”
Tim hates Jason. He loathes the man for what he's done and what he does.
He could be better. He was better.
Tim hates what life has done to Jason even more.
Bruce killed his son.
There was no way Jason had made it out of that alive. Was life really cruel enough to revive him again? To force the teen to live not once, but twice after being murdered?
Tim may hate Jason, but he understands the anger and bitterness the man simmers in.
Maybe he could even grow to a casual dislike of Jason instead of the cold hatred. There's one matter stopping him, though.
“Why do you stare at my neck?”
The older man sighs as he tilts his head back.
“Dick told me you noticed. I wasn't trying to, kid.”
“That doesn't tell me why.”
Another deep sigh as the man tries to collect himself. “I- I fucked up. I never should have done what I did at the Tower.” Jason tilts his head down, but he doesn't meet Tim's eyes. “My vision was green. My head was fucked five ways to Sunday. Sometimes, I can't remember if you survived. I just-”
There's a pause as Jason attempts to breathe.
“I need to make sure you survived.” He grits his teeth and looks away. Slightly under his breath he mutters, “I didn't survive the same wound. I need to check that it's healed. That you can breathe.”
Tim doesn't know how to respond to that. There's the confirmation that Bruce killed Jason. There's the fact that Jason may actually not want Tim dead. There's the vulnerability Jason's not known for showing. What the hell is Tim supposed to say?
After several moments of tense silence, Jason glances over at Tim. Seeing the younger’s frozen form, he frowns and appears dejected.
Tim catches his expression and snaps out of his daze. His hands drift up to his neck as he hesitates. When he finds his own eyes drifting to Jason's neck, he's surprised at the relief he feels seeing the scar. Hearing what Bruce did, seeing what their father did, horrifies Tim. What is he supposed to do?
Jason's alive. Tim, despite the casual dislike he now holds for the man, cares about Jason. At the very least, he did not deserve that. Seeing proof he is alive is relieving.
He understands Jason's point about that.
Therefore, with slight reluctance, Tim pulls down his collar.
Jason's breath hitches. Tim's eyes snap up to his.
There's confusion, hurt, desperation, guilt, and fear very plainly displayed on his face. The most overpowering emotion, the one that convinces Tim he made the right choice, is the all-encompassing relief.
The younger one isn't sure where they go from here. There's a new anxiety in his gut about Jason's well-being. There's a deeper understanding of the man.
There's a lack of suffocation the collar usually provides.
Tim might not like the wraith crime lord that is his adoptive brother, but he, begrudgingly, feels concern for him.
He's appalled by what Bruce did.
He's resigned to find himself not surprised by this either.
Fuck. He's going to have to do something about this, isn't he?